Eric Bieniemy and the Commanders look to be moving toward a deal. The longtime Chiefs offensive coordinator is back at the NFC East team’s facility Friday and is believed to have interest in leaving Kansas City for Washington, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
While it would represent a somewhat strange development for the five-year Chiefs OC to leave a place where he has won two Super Bowls, teams have continually overlooked him for head-coaching gigs. This OC-to-OC move would allow Bieniemy to have full play-calling responsibilities for the first time.
The sides began their meeting with a Wednesday night dinner, and Rapoport notes the process is likely to conclude with Bieniemy becoming the next Commanders OC (Twitter link). If Bieniemy leaves his post under Andy Reid, Rapoport adds (via Twitter) Matt Nagy is the favorite to replace him as the Chiefs’ next OC. Other teams showed interest in Nagy this offseason, but NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets the ex-Bears HC received indications he was next in line to become Reid’s right-hand man on offense.
Both Nagy and Doug Pederson rode Kansas City’s OC position to HC opportunities — in Chicago and Philadelphia — but no such path has formed for Bieniemy, leading to widespread criticism. The Chiefs have employed Bieniemy as their OC throughout Patrick Mahomes‘ starter tenure, and while numerous HC interviews have come to pass, a chance to lead a team remains elusive. A move to a play-calling post, then, emerged on the radar as a potential stepping stone for the 10-year Chiefs assistant.
Bieniemy, 53, interviewed for the Colts HC job this year but said prior to Super Bowl LVII he had not met with any teams about their OC gigs. Both the Commanders and Ravens wanted to speak with the Reid lieutenant about their play-calling positions, but Baltimore hired Todd Monken for the job. Washington, however, has kept its job open for more than a month. Bieniemy has been the Commanders’ top choice for a while, and despite Ron Rivera being on the hot seat and the franchise potentially nearing a sale, the two-time Super Bowl-winning OC is close to relocating.
The Chiefs extended Bieniemy on a one-year deal during the 2022 offseason. Even if his contract were not up, the Chiefs could not block a Bieniemy Commanders interview due to the job coming with play-calling responsibilities. Reid has retained those in Kansas City, which has played a role in the assistant not landing a top coaching gig. Bieniemy’s inability to do so, despite others securing such opportunities in recent years without play-calling pasts, has led to the intense scrutiny regarding the NFL’s hiring practices. That is unlikely to cease if Bieniemy lands in Washington, but it appears the former NFL running back is ready to test himself as a play-caller for a scuffling team.
Rivera fired three-year OC Scott Turner shortly after the season and interviewed several candidates, but the process slowed. Bieniemy waited until after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVII win to interview. Whereas the Chiefs are coming off a season in which their offense ranked No. 1 in DVOA despite trading All-Pro Tyreek Hill, the Commanders ranked 28th. Even in traditional metrics, Washington’s offense did not rank inside the top 20 during Turner’s tenure. Quarterback issues played a large part in that, though Turner drew criticism as well during the 2022 season.
While Bieniemy leaving the comforts of the Reid-Mahomes setup for uncertainty in Washington obviously brings considerable risk, the Commanders do roster some skill-position talent. Terry McLaurin and first-round pick Jahan Dotson are signed through 2025, with Curtis Samuel‘s contract running through the ’23 season. Brian Robinson also showed promise during his rookie campaign, despite suffering gunshot wounds in August.
Nagy served as Reid’s OC for two seasons — 2016-17 — after Pederson left for Philadelphia. Reid did give him a play-calling role for a bit, and the Bears hired him after Alex Smith‘s final K.C. season. Nagy earned Coach of the Year honors after helping the Bears to a 12-4 record and their first NFC North title since 2010. The operation went south soon after, with the team’s Mitch Trubisky draft choice doing well to sink Nagy. The Bears finished 8-8 in 2019 and 2020, but their 6-11 2021 mark led to Nagy’s firing. He quickly resurfaced in Kansas City as quarterbacks coach, and it looks like the Chiefs will ensure continuity by promoting him to replace Bieniemy.
